darthandy

I imagine someone could string some fiber optic filament(s) from the headlight to the dash. This would have the advantage of actually showing if there was light rather than depending on checking for electricity at the light source. Not sure how itr would have to be placed at the light to ensure it was "fed" by the light rather than outside light sources. Andy

Yes, Clearview does state that it's OK to use Rain-X on their windshields. I have been using it on mine for over a year and it looks just fine. I tried using pledge but I found that in dusty areas i would get a layer of dust building up on the shield and that would reduce visibility at night. Andy

Yep. And the 5 speed tranny was from Mazda - Ford had a big stake in Mazda at the time. Andy

Sounds like a plan. PM me and we can set up a day and time. A friend loaned me some old gauges that he had, but two of them are off zero with no way to adjust them. I checked them out and the difference seems to be consistent so I can finagle a test that should be reasonably accurate, but I'd rather use a better tool. I haven't ordered anything yet and I would like to adjust the carbs soon. Thanks for the offer. Andy

Well, I guess I'm showing my age as well. She was a great singer and a very attractive lady. They made a great and fun couple, especially on TV. She will be missed. Andy

Well, I had already bought the EBC HH pads and I put a bit of a bevel on the pads (I'm not really good at doing that so I didn't want to overdo it.). And then, I put the anti-squeal spray on the backs of each pad and the shim. If the brakes squeal now (Which they did badly before I put some anti-squeal on the old ones) then I'll resort to turning up the volume on the radio! Thanks everyone for the ideas and advice. Oh yeah ... I gave the calipers as good a cleaning as I could with some Q-tips, cleaner and a toothbrush. Now we'll see. Just have to flush and bleed the system tomorrow. Andy

Yes, you're right about the shim. It is supposed to eliminate the squeal but I've seen (heard?) brakes squeal even with these attached. That's why I was wondering if I should spray both pads. However, since the "shim" rides against the pistons, I wondered if I should spray the back of the shim as well. Andy

I plan on putting some anti-squeal spray on my pads (Just the back of course!). In theory, since the outboard pad has a shim, it shouldn't need any. Should I spray it as well anyway? And if so, do I spray the pad first or after the shim is installed? I searched the forum and found that someone had once asked he same question but never received an answer. I am curious to know. Thanks Andy

Went to the tech library and looked at the parts catalogue. Now I see where they go. Never mind! Andy

was checking out the service manual before replacing my brake pads as this is the first time I do it on the RSV. The manual talks about shims for the pads and a brake spring but the exploded diagram for the brake system doesn't show shims or a spring. Where should I be looking for these? Or is the shim simply the metal backing plate for the pad material? And still, where would the spring be? Thanks, Andy

I believe the Carbtune has aluminum rods in the measuring unit. These avoid some potential problems with liquid based units but they can have their own problems. The similar unit you saw on Amazon is probably the Motion Pro synchronizer. It uses liquid in the measuring unit and can therefore be subject to bubbles which can throw off the reading or to having the liquid sucked out of the unit. Having said that, the reviews I've seen for both units seem to be pretty good overall. Do a search of recent threads on the subject and you'll see some pretty good explanations of the pluses and minuses for each type along with personal experiences from members who have used them. At the end of the day, I suspect that the best choice is to go with the unit that you feel most confident will do the job you want. That's my reason for looking at the gauges - I've used gauge-based measuring tools over the years and am comfortable using them and I've found them reliable - provided you stick to good quality units. Of course that's true of any tool. Andy

I have to admit though, the seal doctor looks to be a bit easier to use. And the video is a whole lot more fun to watch. Andy

Aren't we supposed to pay $5.00 when we fall, er, uh - I mean when the bike falls over ... through no fault of our own? Andy

There is also this product that I have used and it too works quite well. http://sealmate.net/ I used it on my Triumph when one fork seal started to leak last year and it did the job quite well. Of course, if the seal is damaged or hardened with age, there is little else to do but replace it. Andy

Condolences on your loss and congratulations on the new addition. Bowling team? Andy

Congrats on the new machine. Yes by all means do include some pics. By the way, I thought the 2000 was red on red and the 2001 was red on black? But then again, what do I know? Andy

I question calling this guy an idiot. I don't think his I.Q. is high enough to reach that level. Andy

OK, this may be a bit of a stupid question but... There seems to be a "bracket" or whatever you want to call it, on the RSV for a centre stand. Is it possible that the RSV frame comes from another model that had a centre stand? If so, would the other model's stand work on the RSV or has the geometry of the frame been changed too much? Or did they just put that "bracket" there to drive us crazy? Andy

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. Andy

A friend loaned me a set of vacuum gauges to sync my carbs. I noticed that one had a needle well off zero and another was slightly off (He hasn't used them in a few years.). There seems to be an adjustment screw (Just a guess on my part.) on the face of the dial but there's no way to get at it. I emailed the company, asking if there was a way to remove the face cover to get at the screw. They replied that the units (Actron) are factory sealed and if they are off zero the unit needs to be replaced. I wasn't impressed with the company's reply. I seem to remember reading a thread on this forum that talked about zeroing out the gauges with an adjustment screw so I assume a better quality gauge would have that capability. Now I'm thinking of buying a set of Emgo gauges to do the work and was wondering if anyone had experience with these and if they knew whether or not they are adjustable. [ame=http://www.amazon.com/EMGO-VACUUM-CARB-SYNCH-84-68594/dp/B003CJGDE8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1375723294&sr=8-1&keywords=emgo+carb]Amazon.com: EMGO VACUUM CARB SYNCH EMGO 84-68594: Automotive@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51BYvgAYrjL.@@AMEPARAM@@51BYvgAYrjL[/ame] Andy

Yes, I know what you mean about that feeling of not being in the right gear sometimes. That's why I have also been thinking about going the Vmax route. Besides, there's nothing wrong with a little extra "get up and go", right? You are probably right about your environment having a detrimental effect on mileage, especially with the stock gearing. We visited Halifax some years ago when our daughter went to Dalhousie U. I can easily see where the stock gearing could result in poor fuel mileage and the Vmax change over would be a great idea. Lovely area there but I found that driving around "down town" in a full size van had me going over the curb on some right hand turns. Very narrow streets and it gets interesting with traffic. We really enjoyed the area though and want to go back again. Andy

That 5.9 gal. capacity would be in U.S. gal. In Canadian gal. it would be 5 gal. So, according to your figures, (222 miles to dry) that would be 44.4 miles per gal (CDN). That mileage figure sounds the same as what you say you were running with the stock rear end. That's pretty close to what I get with mine under those conditions, but I rarely run 5th gear unless it's a flat, level road and I'm holding a steady speed. Unless I'm missing something, it sounds like your mileage hasn't really changed much if at all. But then you now have much better acceleration and the capability to run 5th gear at lower speeds so it seems like you came out ahead ... a performance improvement with no gas mileage penalty. Sounds good to me! Andy

It's guys like these that help keep down the population numbers and prove Darwin's theory. Andy

Got this video from MSN Autos site. Seems the Europeans have a different way of ensuring that vehicles don't go around the blocking arms at railroad crossings. However, they can be defeated by narrow single track vehicles - like motorcycles, for instance. Either this biker wasn't used to this type of crossing or he was drunk or just plain stupid. According to reports he was unhurt. You'll have to paste the link into the address field as I couldn't get it to come up as a usable link. http://video.msn.com?vid=d215b7b6-0933-4a8a-a3e8-e8f680490037&mkt=en-ca&src=CPSmall:share:email:uuids&from=cp^customplayer_en-ca_autos Andy

Yeah, that happens with my 2555 as well. I usually terminate the load and do it again the next day and then everything goes smoothly. It usually shouldn't take more than 15 to 30 minutes to complete a download. This seems to be a problem with their site. Andy